Cardinal Clancy Centre for Research in the Spiritual, Moral, Religious and Pastoral Dimensions of Education.
Spiritual, Moral and Religious Education is a Flagship area for Research in Australian Catholic University

 Universities, United Kingdom

The School of Theology, St. Mary’s University College (affiliated with the University of Surrey). Waldegrave Road, Strawberry Hill, London
A session was given to the MA in the Catholic School Leadership group with the focus on the need for a language of meaning and relevance for Religious Education in the future of Catholic schooling.

Dr John Sullivan (at left) with students in the MA in Catholic School Leadership Studies at St Mary's University College, Strawberry Hill. Dr Sullivan is now Professor of Christian Education at Hope University in Liverpool.

The School of Education, University of Cambridge and St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge
A seminar was conducted on Contemporary Issues in Religious Education for academics, key education authorities in Catholic system and religion teachers and school principals in the Cambridgeshire area.  Special interest was taken in the area of youth spirituality and the search for meaning;   and also in ACU School of Religious Education’s use of Internet resource material as an important part of the face-to-face teaching and learning process.

The Centre for Research and Development in Catholic education within the Institute of Education, University of London.

Professor Gerald Grace, Director of the Centre for Research and Development in Catholic Education, Institute of Education, the University of London A meeting with Professor Gerald Grace was an opportunity for discussing issues in Religious Education and leadership in Catholic schooling.   Consideration was also given to the agreement currently being negotiated between the Institute and Australian Catholic University..

The University of Birmingham.   The School of Education and Credar—Centre for Research and Development in Religious Education. Professor John M. Hull and Dr. Michael H. Grimmitt.

Associate Professor Kari Flornes from the Bergen College of Education in  Norway with Professor John Hull of  the School of Education the University of Birmingham -- after the research seminar.

With Dr Michael Grimmitt, the University of Birmingham. Dr Grimmitt has developed a theory for teaching religion in the multi-faith context based on constructivist theories of learning. A research seminar was presented to doctoral and other research candidates concerned with religious and moral education at the University of Birmingham.   Particular attention was given to constructivist theories of teaching and learning with implications for Religious Education.

Mr John Lankshear (Christian Education Movement, UK) and Dr Jeff Astley, University of Durham and the North of England Centre for Christian Education.	Dr Astley, Dr Joe O'Keefe (Boston College, USA) Dr Doret de Ruyter and Professor Jim Conroy, (Department of Religious Education, the University of Glasgow).	With Dr Virginia Stern and Dr Mark Stern -- discussions on psychoanalytic perspectives on the development of "self" and "identity."

 Universities, Belgium and the Netherlands

 Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Contribution of a response to the keynote address at the International conference on identity and education at the Catholic University of Nijmegen.  

Winter, KUN February, 2001

Responding to the keynote address on the psychology of identity at the International conference on identity and education, Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen

With British colleagues by the famous painting of Pope John XXXIII at KUN.

Dr Kathleen O'Connor and Mr John Squires (Australia) with Professor Chris Hermans  Faculty of Theology, Katholieke Universiteit  Nijmegen

Catholic University of  Nijmegen. Professor Chris Hermans (Professor of Religious Education and Practical Theology) and Professor Hans Van der Ven (Faculty of Theology) discusses surveys of the contemporary spirituality, particularly with respect to young people.   Initial discussions looked at the possibility of ACU School of Religious Education co-operating with the international research project on spirituality being conducted by Professor Van der Ven.   After examination of the international questionnaires, consideration can be given to the collection of comparative data from young people in Australia.   This could then become part of the analysis within the international project.

Katholieke Universiteit Brabant (The University of Tilburg)
A seminar was presented to academic staff and theology/religious education students on Religious Education and young peoples quest for meaning and purpose.  

With Ilsa (research student)  and Professor Bert Roebben, Faculty of Theology at the Katholieke Universiteit Brabant )University of Tilburg, after the presentation seminar on Religious Education and young people's search for meaning and identity. Individual discussions were also held with Professor Hubertus Roebben and Professor R. Nauta.  Continued exchange of information and cooperation is being considered with Dr. Roebben.   Great interest was shown in the use of Internet resource material as an important part of the face-to-face teaching and learning process.

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
Meetings were held first with Professor Herman Lombaerts on contemporary developments on Religious Education and ministry, particularly in the Catholic sector.   This included discussion of the use of Internet resources for face-to-face teaching.   Professor Lombaerts also discussed ACU’s continuing involvement in the Pacific Rim Internet Religious Education resources project named RE Quest, even though the format for this project at this stage appears not to be particularly useful to Australian religious educators.  

		The main University Library -- rebuilt after damage  during World War II Professor Herman Lombaerts with the Librarian in the Faculty of Theology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven.   The Faculty of Theology was founded in  1436 and has been involved in teaching and  research in Theology (and more recently, Religious Education) since that time.
The ornately Flemish carved Town Hall, Leuven, outside Brussels

Catholic Education authorities, United Kingdom

 Meeting with Catholic School Principals, Diocese of Westminster, Northern London Region at Westminster House, Watford Way, Hendon. As well as discussing issues in Religious Education and Catholic Schooling, this meeting initiated work on an advertisement for newly graduated ACU Catholic teachers and experienced Catholic teachers who might be looking for a position for a year or more teaching in Catholic schools in England.

Catholic Education institutions, Perth

 Presentations on religious education in Western Australia for the Catholic Institute of Western Australia, the University of Notre Dame and the Western Australian Catholic Education Office.

Arranged by Doctor Wayne Tinsey.   On the return to Sydney via Perth, the opportunity was taken to respond to requests for presentations at these institutions through Dr Wayne Tinsey.   A public lecture on youth spirituality and the search for meaning was given at the University of Notre Dame  --  the need for a language of meaning in the quest to make Religious Education more relevant to the needs of young people.  

With Prof Wayne Tinsey and some of the staff in the Catholic Institute of Western Australia A day’s professional development program was conducted for academic staff in the Catholic Institute of Western Australia.   The institute is located within Edith Cowan University.   It conducts programs in Theology and Religious Education for Edith Cowan, Curtin and Notre Dame universities.   The seminar focused on the way that contemporary Catholic Theology and Religious Education might more appropriately address the needs of young people and the wider Catholic community.

Catholic Education Office, Archdiocese of Perth

With diocesan Religious Education advisers, Catholic Education Office, WA. In addition, a professional development seminar was conducted for the Religious Education advisers in the Western Australian Catholic Education Office;   it considered contemporary issues for religious education, especially those related to young people’s spirituality and search for meaning and identity.   The focus also included the role of diocesan Religious Education advisors.

Reflections on the study visit and seminars:
Research information on identity:
A contribution was made to on-going thought about “identity” as studied in philosophy, psychology, sociology and education.   The response to the keynote address focused on the psychological constructs of self and identity.   (The paper is reproduced on the website   identity.pdf )   This study has added a psychological perspective to work that is already being done in ACU on identity as it relates to Religious Education.

 New ideas related to the psychology of identity health
An enhanced perspective on self and identity emerged through discussions with Professor Antoine Vergote (Leuven) and Drs. Mark and Elizabeth Stern (New York, while visiting Perth).   These meetings, important psychological insights into identity development and psychotherapeutic aspects of spiritual development.

 Discussions with Dr Mark Stern and Dr Virginia Stern (clinical psychotherapists from New York) focused on adolescent spirituality and the search for meaning from a psychotherapeutic perspective.   Special attention was given to the problem of exaggerated individualism in contemporary western cultures.   This can contribute to the problem of narcissism where individuals become preoccupied with their own selves and their own interests and needs.

Psychotherapy itself is concerned with self-understanding.   This poses a difficulty for the psychotherapist when the principal problem might be narcissism.   The difficulty the therapist faces here is beginning with an interactive process with the client which focuses on the self, where one of the possible desirable outcomes might be recognition that too great a focus on the self is part of the individual’s psychological problem.   This raises questions for the ethics of the psychotherapist who does not set out intentionally to change the individual in a direction which the psychotherapist thinks constitutes ‘desirable health’ for that individual.   In non-directive therapy, it is a matter of engagement with the client in ways that make possible a greater awareness of psychological options that they might take to address their own problems or to enhance their psychological health.

Contemporary issues in Religious Education
Through discussions with a number of prominent academics in Religious Education in United Kingdom and Western Europe, particularly the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, it was possible to confirm a number of the ideas and developments being considered and published by the School of Religious Education in ACU.   The various presentations were opportunities to make a valuable Australian contribution to the ongoing debate about moral and Religious Education in the UK and Western Europe.

 The use of the internet for enhancement of face-to-face teaching in ACU
Special interest was taken at most of the tertiary institutions visited in the ACU School of Religious Education’s use of the Internet as part of the face-to-face teaching process.   This was considered valuable because it enhanced the teaching and learning process with new technologies but it was not dependent on having units taught exclusively via the Internet (as with ACUWeb).   It was considered important to continue development of this aspect of the teaching / learning process.

By comparisons with what is being done in other Catholic Universities, and in universities in the UK where Religious Education is an area of academic interest, the offerings and the teaching and learning processes employed by ACU’s School of Religious Education ranks highly.   While Catholic University of Leuven has Godinet a resource database for religion teachers, none of the institutions visited had online courses at postgraduate levels, and none made systematic use of Internet resources as an integral part of the face-to-face teaching process.

Comparison of academic contexts in the various institutions
There was a general expression of concern amongst scholars from the various institutions about the academic context in which they worked.   There was a common view that universities seem to have drifted into a situation where attention to internal processes and documentation has deflected energies away from teaching and research.   

It was generally agreed, that  in times of economic hardship -- indeed, in any times  --  universities will ultimately thrive or diminish according to the quality of their 'true work'  --  teaching and research.   They will not be successful because of the volume and comprehensiveness of their internal documentation.   There was no questioning of the valid need for internal review and quality control processes, and for efficient administration, which are laudable.   But, when in effect they take a significant amount of time and energy away from the 'true' work of the university --  rather than make this work easier for academic staff   --  then it needs to be called into question and some balance restored.   There was concern about the heavy administrative loads that the new emphasis seemed to impose on academics who are in leadership and coordinating roles.

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